A growing number of Americans are turning gas-powered vehicles into electric ones by using a process called an electric powertrain conversion.
越来越多的美国人正在通过一种电动动力系统转换方式将燃气汽车转变为电动汽车。
Such conversions are becoming more popular as battery technology gets better and the world turns toward cleaner energy sources.
随着电池技术的进步和世界转向更清洁的能源，这种转换变得越来越流行。
EVs and classic cars
电动汽车和经典汽车
Kevin Erickson owns a 1972 Plymouth Satellite that he renamed "Electrollite" after conversion. Now, the car can go from a still position to 97 kilometers per hour in about three seconds. Its top speed is almost 250 kilometers per hour.
凯文·埃里克森拥有一辆1972年的普利茅斯卫星，改装后改名为“伊利利特”。现在，这辆车可以在大约三秒钟内从静止状态提速到每小时97公里。其最高速度接近每小时250公里。
At the end of 2019, Erickson bought the car for $6,500. He then began a year-and-a-half-long project to convert the car to electric. He used battery packs, a motor and parts from a Tesla Model S that had been in a crash.
2019年底，埃里克森以6,500美元的价格买下了这辆车。然后他开始了一个长达一年半的项目，将汽车改装成电动汽车。他使用了电池组、电机和来自一辆曾发生过车祸的特斯拉Model S的零件。
"This was my way of taking the car that I like - my favorite body - and then taking the modern technology and performance, and mixing them together," said Erickson, who has put about $60,000 into the project.
埃里克森说：“这就是我选择我喜欢的车--我最喜欢的车身--的方式，然后把现代技术和性能融合在一起，”他在该项目中投入了大约6万美元。
Jonathan Klinger is vice president of car culture for Hagerty Insurance. He said converting classic cars into EVs is "definitely a trend," although research on the activity is limited.
乔纳森·克林格是哈格蒂保险公司的汽车文化副总裁。他说，将老爷车改装成电动车 "绝对是一种趋势"，尽管对这项活动的研究很有限。
In May, the Michigan-based company did a web-based study of about 25,000 automobile lovers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
今年5月，这家位于密歇根州的公司对美国、加拿大和英国的约25000名汽车爱好者，进行了一项基于网络的研究。
About one percent had at least partly converted an older model car to run on some form of electric power.
大约1%的人至少部分地将旧款汽车改装成某种形式的电力驱动汽车。
The top three reasons for converting the vehicles were for better performance, for a fun project, and because of environmental concerns. About 25 percent of respondents said they approve of older automobiles being partly or fully converted to electric vehicles.
改装车辆的前三个原因是为了更好的性能，为了一个有趣的项目，以及因为环境问题。大约25%的受访者表示，他们赞成将老式汽车部分或全部改装为电动汽车。
Klinger, who owns several vintage vehicles, said he does not think electric motors will replace all gas engines - especially when considering historically important vehicles.
拥有几辆老式汽车的克林格说，他不认为电动马达会取代所有的汽油发动机··特别是在考虑具有历史意义的车辆时。
"There's something satisfying about having a vintage car that has a carburetor," he said, because it's the same as when the car was new. Some car lovers want to keep the sound of older cars' original engines.
他说："拥有一辆有化油器的老爷车有种满足感，"他说，因为它和汽车刚出厂时是一样的。一些汽车爱好者希望保留老式汽车原始发动机的声音。
Difficulties and the future
困难和未来
Electric conversions require special knowledge to complete. They also involve safety concerns and parts that are sometimes hard to find.
电动改装需要特殊的技能。其中还涉及安全问题和有时难以找到的零件。
And then there is the price.
再有就是价格问题。
Sean Moudry, who co-owns Inspire EV, a small conversion business near Denver, recently worked on a 1965 Ford Mustang. The year-and-a-half-long project cost more than $100,000 and involved many difficulties.
肖恩·穆德里(Sean Moudry)是丹佛附近一家小型改装企业Inspire EV的共同所有者，他最近在改装一辆1965年的福特野马。这个长达一年半的项目耗资超过10万美元，并涉及许多困难。
Moudry and his partners replaced the gas engine with a motor from a crashed Tesla Model S. They also added 16 Tesla battery packs weighing a total of about 363 kilograms.
穆德里和他的伙伴们用一辆撞毁的特斯拉Model S的电机取代了汽油发动机。他们还增加了16个特斯拉电池组，总重量约为363公斤。
Most older cars, including the Mustang, were not designed to have that much weight or the increased performance of a powerful electric motor. So, the team had to make changes to other parts of the car, including the suspension system.
大多数老式汽车，包括野马，在设计上都没有这么大的重量，也没有强大的电动马达所增加的性能。因此，该团队不得不对汽车的其他部分做出改变，包括悬挂系统。
Moudry says many people do not have the resources necessary to carry out this kind of project. As a result, he says, it will take a while for electric conversions to become common.
穆德里说，许多人没有开展这类项目所需的资源。因此，他说，电动改装需要一段时间才能变得普遍。
"I think it's going to be 20 years," he said. "It's going to be a 20-year run before you go to a car show and 50 to 60 percent of the cars are running some variant of an electric motor in it."
“我认为这将是20年，”他说。“在你去看车展之前，50%到60%的汽车在里面运行着某种不同的电动马达，这将需要20年去实现。”
But that reality could be coming sooner than expected, says Mike Spagnola, president and CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a trade group.
但贸易集团特种设备市场协会(SEMA)总裁兼首席执行官迈克·斯帕尼奥拉说表示，这一现实可能会比预期的更早到来。
He said that electric vehicle products took about 1950 square meters of marketing space at SEMA's yearly show in Las Vegas this fall. That was up from only 232 square meters at the 2021 show.
他说，今年秋天在拉斯维加斯举行的SEMA年度车展上，电动汽车产品占据了约1950平方米的营销空间。而在2021年的车展上，这一数字仅为232平方米。
I'm John Russell.
约翰·拉塞尔报道。
A growing number of Americans are turning gas-powered vehicles into electric ones by using a process called an electric powertrain conversion.
Such conversions are becoming more popular as battery technology gets better and the world turns toward cleaner energy sources.
EVs and classic cars
Kevin Erickson owns a 1972 Plymouth Satellite that he renamed "Electrollite" after conversion. Now, the car can go from a still position to 97 kilometers per hour in about three seconds. Its top speed is almost 250 kilometers per hour.
At the end of 2019, Erickson bought the car for $6,500. He then began a year-and-a-half-long project to convert the car to electric. He used battery packs, a motor and parts from a Tesla Model S that had been in a crash.
"This was my way of taking the car that I like - my favorite body - and then taking the modern technology and performance, and mixing them together," said Erickson, who has put about $60,000 into the project.
Jonathan Klinger is vice president of car culture for Hagerty Insurance. He said converting classic cars into EVs is "definitely a trend," although research on the activity is limited.
In May, the Michigan-based company did a web-based study of about 25,000 automobile lovers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
About one percent had at least partly converted an older model car to run on some form of electric power.
The top three reasons for converting the vehicles were for better performance, for a fun project, and because of environmental concerns. About 25 percent of respondents said they approve of older automobiles being partly or fully converted to electric vehicles.
Klinger, who owns several vintage vehicles, said he does not think electric motors will replace all gas engines - especially when considering historically important vehicles.
"There's something satisfying about having a vintage car that has a carburetor," he said, because it's the same as when the car was new. Some car lovers want to keep the sound of older cars' original engines.
Difficulties and the future
Electric conversions require special knowledge to complete. They also involve safety concerns and parts that are sometimes hard to find.
And then there is the price.
Sean Moudry, who co-owns Inspire EV, a small conversion business near Denver, recently worked on a 1965 Ford Mustang. The year-and-a-half-long project cost more than $100,000 and involved many difficulties.
Moudry and his partners replaced the gas engine with a motor from a crashed Tesla Model S. They also added 16 Tesla battery packs weighing a total of about 363 kilograms.
Most older cars, including the Mustang, were not designed to have that much weight or the increased performance of a powerful electric motor. So, the team had to make changes to other parts of the car, including the suspension system.
Moudry says many people do not have the resources necessary to carry out this kind of project. As a result, he says, it will take a while for electric conversions to become common.
"I think it's going to be 20 years," he said. "It's going to be a 20-year run before you go to a car show and 50 to 60 percent of the cars are running some variant of an electric motor in it."
But that reality could be coming sooner than expected, says Mike Spagnola, president and CEO of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a trade group.
He said that electric vehicle products took about 1950 square meters of marketing space at SEMA's yearly show in Las Vegas this fall. That was up from only 232 square meters at the 2021 show.
I'm John Russell.
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Words in This Story
battery - n. an electric cell or connected electric cells for providing electric current
trend - n. a general direction of change : a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common
vintage -adj. - used to describe something that is not new but that is valued because of its good condition, attractive design, etc.
carburetor - n. the part of an engine in which gasoline is mixed with air so it will burn and provide the engine with power
variant - n. different in some way from others of the same kind
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